Archives for culture

Through it's 180 images by painters, photographers, architects and fashion designers - all from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York Is... hopes to paint an evocative picture of New York, shown through the various perspectives of some the worlds greatest creative figures. As an unashamed fan of Manhattan, this book need not try very... Posted on March 27, 2014 by Christopher King in Book ReviewsContinue Reading

Of the many pleasures in running a design studio and writing these book reviews are the wonderful treats that often come through our doors. The best of these offer visual delights and fuel for our imaginations. A highlight of 2014 so far comes in the shape of Magic 1400s – 1950s from TASCHEN – an eye-popping…

Concept Albums or book/album combo projects conjure fond memories of Jeff Wayne’s ambitious War of the Worlds, or even those great Book and Record Sets from the 70s, with their excellent short stories accompanied by soundtracks and effects that bathed you in sonic atmosphere. Such were my hopes for Captain Rugged, the new graphic novel…

The Artists Who Made Crime Pay The general public's appetite for low-brow sleaze has long been a safe bet for publishers, and while tales of crime and grizzly murders might now feel more at home in a sophisticated prime-time TV series, it was once the mass market crime magazines that ruled the darker recesses of... Posted on February 12, 2014 by Christopher King in Book ReviewsContinue Reading

Although essentially a re-formatting of previously released books, those unfamiliar with Dian Hanson’s History of Pin-Up Magazines are well served by this new edition that collects all three volumes and presents them with a flair we now come to expect from publishers TASCHEN. My initial interest in this series were the countless examples of classic…

A brief glimpse around the Wing’s Art website reveals that i’m more than a little enamoured by Art Deco design. From its architecture, to furniture and jewelry, few other artistic movements have had such a lasting impact on the creative industries and continue to inspire today. Books on the subject are plentiful, and along with some…

In 100 Illustrators, Steven Heller and Julius Wiedemann offer a selection work from a wide variety of contemporary artists previously featured in TASCHEN’s successful series Illustration Now! It’s a sumptuous double-volume, hardback coffee table book containing profiles of artists ranging from the well-established to those just making their mark in the industry. And while I usually…

Along with Walt Disney, Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, Maurice Noble stands among a group of men who changed the business of animation forever. But unlike Disney’s traditional approach to animation with realistic characters and highly detailed backgrounds, Maurice Noble applied his own sense of modern graphic design (often with creative partner Chuck Jones) to…

I count myself among a strange breed of pale thirtysomethings – over exposed to TV, horror films, video games and all those other bad things supposed to rot our brains – but specifically amazing film poster art. Born of the home video generation, with daily life coloured by films such as Blade Runner, Star Wars, Indiana Jones,…

Through his many examples of beautiful vintage movie posters, film historian and collector Ira M. Resnick reveals the history of Hollywood and the leading men and screen goddesses of cinema’s golden-age. From the biographies of silent-era stars such as Louise Brooks and Gloria Swanson, to the personal travel tales as a poster collector, his affection…

As a life-long animation fan, I fear that the Disney studio is currently stuck in some kind of creative lull. With each new feature I find myself less and less engaged, and have come to the conclusion that it's all the fault of the homogenizing effect of CGI. While films like Brave and Wreck It... Posted on November 7, 2013 by Christopher King in Book ReviewsContinue Reading

The work of David Wright was unknown to me before it’s introduction in the article by Peter Richardson in issue 2 of Illustrators Magazine. His pin-up paintings and comic book illustrations were immediately impressive, equalling that of more prominent artists such as Gil Elvgren and Harry Ekman, and left me firstly surprised that I hadn’t seen…

In Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines, the illustrator Samantha Hahn presents a collection of portraits imagining 50 of the best-loved female characters from literary classics of the last century. The Great Gatsby’s Daisy Buchanan, Scarlet O’Hara of Gone With the Wind and Doctor Zhivago’s Lara Guishar count among an impressive list, illustrated in…

Towering above all others in the land of the comic book gods stands Frank Frazetta, a powerhouse of science-fiction and fantasy art, sadly no longer with us, but whose work remains as popular and sought-after as ever. The Frazetta Sketchbook is a welcome addition to the collections of available work, offering a previously unseen look at the…

Wing’s Art and Design Studio

The work of Graphic Designer and Illustrator Christopher King, Wing’s Art is a range of downloadable, professional quality design resources. Used on everything from wedding invites to award winning TV shows, these products have helped thousands of customers fulfil their creative vision whatever the budget. Also available for freelance and private commissions, please see the contact page for more details.